Remember When
by Chloe Winchester
Summary: When Spencer was in high school, what if he wasn't totally alone after the incident on the football field? What if he had one friend who tried as hard as she could to help? Tie in with Elephant's Memory. Please R&R Title inspired by Alan Jackson song
1. High School

--Okay, I'm a veteran to fanfic but a newbie to the CM category. Please go easy on me!--

1

Spencer Reid didn't fit in anywhere. He was too smart and acted too old to fit in with people his own age, and he was too young to fit in with adults. The only place he really felt like he fit, was with Rachel. His best friend, and his only friend, since he arrived at this high school.

He had been dubbed a genius when he was four. He was dubbed a super-genius when he was six. Ever since then his life had changed. Some for the good, some for the bad. His mother wanted him to have a challenge. And that is a difficult task when someone knows something about everything. He stayed in the grade his age permitted, also Mother's idea, and took college classes online and at night.

Even though adults saw his brain as a gift and claimed him a genius, the people in his class had dubbed him a freak. The kid who needed to get out of the school and go to college, or some other school far away from this one. They think he's only there to show everyone up, and he's not. He's only doing what he's told.

His classmates take every chance they get to bully him. To make him an outcast in every possible way. And they succeeded. Rachel was not only his best friend she was his _only _friend. And Spencer never knew why she was. Despite her relationship with him she was mildly popular with plenty of "normal" friends. She was very pretty, hazel eyes, sandy blonde hair, trim figure and yet she refused to have a boyfriend. She told everyone she was waiting to find that special someone.

But Spencer knew better. She was afraid if she got romantically involved with someone she'd end up doing something foolish and have it end up all over the place and pretty much ruin her life. Other than that she didn't care what people thought. She was Spencer's friend because he intrigued her. She loved to hear him talk. It didn't matter what the topic was, she loved learning anything she could from him. And she would stick up for him no matter what. If someone called him a name in front of her, she'd punch them in the face as hard as she could. When Spencer was with her, no one dared mess with him. And the brave few who did, wound up in the nurse's office.

That made Spencer feel better about the way he was. He knew his mind wasn't a defect, but sometimes it felt like one. He just wanted to be normal. Then they wouldn't taunt. They wouldn't call him a freak. He'd just be a normal fifteen year old boy.

He faced the front doors to the high school, bright sunlight in his face cutting through the crisp October air. He sighed, staring at the doors. This was the one place on Earth he never wanted to go. He ran his hand through his hair. He looked around at the rest of the student body waiting for the doors to open. The buses pulled up and kids milled out. Gossip from the weekend spread from clique to clique. Jocks spoke of the game on Friday and how they would crush the Cougars. A group of girls walked past him. They looked at him and laughed.

"Hey freak!" One called out. Spencer turned away from them, shut his eyes and sighed.

"Why can't they just leave me alone?" He whispered. He looked up when someone called his name. He smiled when he saw Rachel walking toward him. He raised his arm and waved, making her laugh.

"You know Spence I think I figured out why I'm friends with you." She said. Spencer's head cocked to one side.

"Why?" He asked, still smiling.

"Because you are so nerdy and cute I wanna scream." She giggled. Spencer laughed too, though slightly uncomfortable.

The bell sounded across the courtyard and the students roamed their way into the school. As Rachel and Spencer made their way down the halls they got several glares. Rachel didn't seem to notice. Spencer did. He noticed everything. Every tiny detail that reached his peripheral vision. He reached his locker and dialed the combination without even looking.

"How the hell do you do that?" Rachel asked. Spencer smiled.

"I wish I knew." He said truthfully. Rachel giggled. Spencer's grin faded as Arthur Marks, the high school quarter back, walked up witha cocky grin on his face. Spencer knew what was coming, and Rachel did too. This had happened many times.

"Hey Rach." Arthur said.

_Strike one. _Spencer noted. _He called her Rach._

"You are lookin' hot today. " He said, eyes roving up and down her body. Rachel smiled bitterly. Spencer tried not to smile. He knew what she was thinking. She was having a mental battle whether or not to knee him in a very sensitive place.

_Strike two. He only wants her for her body and let her know it."_

"So," Arthur continued. "What's say you ditch the nerd Friday and hang out with me after the game?"

_Uh-oh. Big strike three. _Rachel scowled at him.

"Why don't you get one of those pom-pom bimbos to screw you Art." She said shortly. "And you ever call him that again, I'll castrate you." Spencer's eyes grew. Arthur scowled.

"Fine. Your ugly anyway." He said and walked away. Spencer took a step forward, grimacing and cheeks reddening. Rachel put a hand on his chest.

"He ain't worth it Spence." She said softly. Spencer nodded.

"I know it's just...He had no right to..." Rachel nodded.

"He's an ass." She said bluntly. He smiled lightly and shut his locker door.

The bell rang again and he and Rachel headed to first hour. Before he went in his classroom Rachel squeezed his shoulder.

"See ya later Spence."

"By Rachel." He said, waving again, knowing she'd laugh. And she did. He smiled and walked in the class room, mildly ready for the torment waiting inside. If only he knew the things he would be put through only hours from now.

--Feedback is SO loved by this writer! Tell me if you liked it, hell tell me if you hated it!--


	2. Friends

--O.K. Here I go again.--

2

Rachel had made it her life goal to watch out for Spencer. He wasn't helpless but he wouldn't retaliate to people hurting him. He wouldn't stoop to that level. Rachel met Spencer in her third hour on the first day of school. She marveled at how his hand shot in the air no matter what question the teacher threw at them. What amazed her even more was that he got them right. Everyone else scoffed, a few threw papers at the back of his head. Rachel never sat by and watched someone get bullied. So, since no one else was sitting next to him, she did. They stared at her like she was from another planet. Spencer glanced at her shyly, his cheeks slightly pink. When yet another paper ball came flying at his head she stood.

"The next person who throws anything at him, or me, is gonna get it after school." Then she sat back down. Mid-way through the lesson someone dared to send a paper ball at them. Rachel turned and Saw Matt Showman, grinning like an idiot, he even waved. Rachel smiled back. The next day Matt came to school with a severe limp.

That day Rachel sat with Spencer at lunch. He hadn't said a word to her since the day before but when she sat down he finally spoke.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said. Rachel smiled.

"And why not?" She asked. Spencer stared at his tray.

"If they see you with me your reputation will go down the drain. You'll be considered at the bottom of the social ladder and it will essentially lead to poor social skills later in life. And I don't want to be responsible for that I'll feel terrible my whole life and yours will be permanently ruined." He said all of this very quickly and was sure she hadn't caught any of it. However, she smiled and shook her head.

"I stopped caring what people thought a long time ago. And besides, you won't ruin my life I can assure you that." She said. He smiled back gently.

"What I don't understand is why someone like you wants to be friends with someone like me." He said. "Most people who come around me just tell me to be quiet." Rachel leaned forward.

"Spence I promise you, I would never tell you to shut up. I mean, it's not your fault you know everything." She said chuckling. He looked at her for a moment. Unsure why this beautiful girl was so intrigued by him. And she called him Spence. He hated it. But considering there was an actual person actually interested in what he had to say, he let it go.

"Well, technically it's impossible to know everything. Scientists and other people in that field are proving and making knew discoveries every day, inevitably changing what we actually know and...and I need to be quiet now, right?" He asked. Rachel had been hanging onto every word he said.

"No, please keep going." She said. Their relationship had kicked off from there. Since then they had become inseparable besides of course different class schedules and a curfew. They were in every sense of the word, best friends. Yes people gossipped, but they went unnoticed. Spencer was unaware of anyone else when Rachel was around. He had no romantic feelings for her, they just clicked. Spencer always had something to say, Rachel was always here to listen.

Now they were in fifth hour waiting for the lunch bell. The last hour of the day. Rachel was finishing the last problem of their science assignment. Spencer had been done for awhile and waited patiently for her to finish. She wrote her name on the paper and sat back.

"They need to give genius' three pounds of homework so they'll keep up with the rest of us dumb people." She sighed. Spencer frowned.

"You aren't stupid and you know that." He said shortly. She grinned.

"I know. I just think it's funny when you get mad." She said. They laughed.

_Bbrriinnggg._

Instantly students slammed their books shut, grabbed their belongings, shoved their chairs in and bolted out the door. Rachel and Spencer moved at a regular pace, in no hurry to eat the horrors that the school district called lunch.

"They act like the food's gonna run away or something." Rachel said. "The only other time I see Brittany Mills move that fast is when a guy walks by her locker." She chuckled. Spencer shook his head.

"I don't understand this obsession with obtaining a relationship. All it does is give us an excuse to toss away our virtues when we really have our entire lives ahead of us. Our body's cells can live up to 120 years so we really have 103 years to find a significant other. I don't know what the big rush is." Spencer said quickly. Rachel shrugged.

"I don't know Spence. I guess people get lonely." They reached the cafeteria doors and Rachel groaned. "Shall we enter the strange world of tuna surprise and constant vending machine clatter?" She asked.

"If it's the only choice we have." He shrugged.

Rachel and Spencer were the only ones at their table. Rachel had perfected the art of ignoring others remarks and comments. But Spencer wasn't. He noticed everything. Any minuscule detail about anything. So when people walked by their table and glared, he could read their faces.

One girl's said: _Those freaks. God why can't they act normal?_

A boy's rang: _She is SO hot. What the hell is she dong with a freak like that?_

"How was your day?" Rachel asked. He wasn't about to tell her about being taunted in first hour, for the entire hour. Mrs. Lang was out sick and the sub was so deaf and so blind he didn't notice. He wasn't going to tell her about all of the people who had called him a freak and nearly beat him up. He wasn't going to tell her about the confrontation he got from Arthur about staying away from Rachel. So he simply said:

"Fine. Yours?" Rachel rattled off a tale about Henry Summers staring at her chest all hour and how she "damn near" punched his lights out.

"...I told him if I ever saw him do it again he'd end up just like his brother Jimmy." Spencer winced. Jimmy Summers had ended up in the hospital after he "tried" to do something he shouldn't. He never said who did it, Rachel would press charges if he did.

"That's harsh." He said. Rachel huffed.

"Yeah well unless I say anything no one has any right to stare at me that way." She said angrily. Spencer nodded. The bell rang again, the entire student body emptied the large school.

"I'll be in the library in a minute Spence. I gotta do something first." She said, walking toward her locker. Spencer was at his own.

"Alright Rachel I'll see you in a minute." He smiled at her. He gathered his books and headed off to the library, alone.

--Warning! Whompage in the next chapter! Feedback would be loved by me if you've got it!!--


	3. Football

--I gave you guys warning last chap. and I'm doing it again! WARNING: MAJOR whompage in this chapter!!--

3

Spencer sat at a table alone. The library was silent but inside his head was a torrent of words. Rushing in, being recognized and then stored away, never to leave their storage space again. The book he was reading was about four hundred pages. In about ten minutes that four was down to one.

_"Though Alexander The Great was the greatest ruler in Europe in his time he had his rather unpleasant hobbies. He had a wife yes, but that did not stop him from exploring 'other' orientations." _

His history class had been asked to write a paper on great events throughout Europe and to Spencer, Alexander The Great was the best candidate. Others were reporting on Prince William and the French revolution. Child's play compared to a man who was not only king, but Emperor and Pharaoh before the age of thirty. He tried explaining his fascination, but his class simply ignored him. Rachel had heard his speech on this matter many times, and yet she listened every time he said it.

_I wonder what I did to deserve such a good friend? _He asked himself. He continued reading, and it was several moments before he realized someone was standing in front of him. He looked up. A girl, blond hair in a ponytail, noisily chewing her gum stood before him. Abby Johnson. Extremely popular. He was sure she had to be lost.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked sincerely. She popped her gum.

"Yeah, uh, Spencer right?" She asked. He nodded. "Holly wants to see you." He was stunned. Holly was the prettiest and most popular girl in school. Why on earth would she want to see him?

"If she wants me to do her homework you can kindly tell her no." Abby shook her head.

"No it's nothin' like that." She said, smiling. "She just _really _wants to see you." Spencer's interest was piqued.

"When and where?" He asked, feeling like this was all some illusion and he desperately needed to see a doctor. Abby smiled.

"Football field. Right now." With that she turned and walked out. A smug grin on her face that Spencer couldn't see and it screamed "I know something you don't know." Spencer was hesitant, but he followed her out none the less.

* * *

Rachel had had to clean out her locker. It was stuffed with notes, tons of books and old assignments and had to be dealt with. It took about ten minutes, much less than she expected, and when she got to the library, Spencer was gone. His things were still at their normal table but he was nowhere in sight.

She checked the aisles of books. She checked both computer labs. She even went back to see if he was at his locker. He was nowhere. Finally she resorted to asking the librarian, Mrs. Grier.

"Mrs. Greir," Rachel began, walking up to her place behind the check-out counter. "Have you seen Spence? I can't find him anywhere." Mrs. Grier nodded.

"Yes he came in here about fifteen minutes ago and he was reading. The next thing I saw he was walking out of here with Abby Johnson." She said simply. Rachel went pale.

"Abby Johnson. As in the popular Abby Johnson?" She was horrified when Mrs. Grier nodded.

"Come to think of it it is a little odd huh?" She said, chuckling. Rachel wasn't smiling.

"Thanks Mrs. Grier I'll see you tomorrow." And she was out the doors before she could reply.

* * *

Spencer wasn't sure what to expect when he reached the football field. He had a few educated guesses but none of them came close to this. Holly was there when he got there, but so was the enitre football team. Some looked angry, others had a malicious smile on their faces. Some held ropes in their hands, others rocks.

Justin Beachner stepped forward, a smug look on his face. Spencer's heart beat faster, his thraot dry and palms sweaty. Holly stood in the front, smirking like a gloating third grader.

"Glad you could make it freak." Justin said. "We were just talkin' about you and what do you know?" Spencer started to back away but the others circled around him. Justin stepped closer and closer, he was only about a foot away from him. Spencer could feel his pulse in his ears.

"Spencer!" Rachel's voice called. Justin glanced over his shoulder and nodded to two line-backers and they started to walk down the hill, toward Rachel's voice. "Spence!" Rachel yelled. Spencer took a step forward, wanting desperately to stop the football payers from going near her. When he did Justin tackled him. They fell hard but Justin didn't seem to be fazed. He grabbed a handful of Spencer's hair and pulled his head back.

"Ahss..." Spencer hissed. Justin grinned.

"What do you think we should do with him guys?" He asked. The surrounding crowd laughed. "I say we give him a haircut." He smiled. The others yelled in agreement. "What do you think Art?" He said. The quarter-back stepped forward, his face serious.

"I say we stick with what we were going to do in the first place." He said coldly. Spencer's eyes were wide, heart thudding. He tried getting out of Justin's grip but he only squeezed tighter. Justin shrugged.

"Works for me." He said. His fist drew back and colided with Spencer's jaw when it came forward.

"Ahn!" Spencer yelled. Blood dripped down the corner of hi mouth onto his shirt. Then everyone was on him. Punching, kicking and tearing any piece of clothing they could get their hands on. Spencer couldn't think. Everything was happening too fast. Then someone grabbed under his arms and forced him to stand. He felt cold metal touch his bare back as he was slammed into the goalpost. His arms were forced around the pole and tied together. They stepped back for a moment, laughing and catching their breath.

He was bleeding from several places, his body was completely naked. And when he thought they were done and would leave him like this, they came back for more. They hit their marks a lot easier now that he couldn't fight back.

"Please!" He begged. "Please stop!" He recieved a punch in the jaw for his efforts. The few that had rocks threw them as hard as they could. One hit just above his eye. "Ahun! Please!" He screamed. "No please!" They ignored him, they told him to shut up. Others had come. But not to help him, they were here to see the freak get what he deserves. They never touched him, but they didn't stop it.

"Who's so smart now freak?" Someone yelled.

"Yeah let's see your brain get you out of this!" Cried another. Spencer could barely hear them. He pulled at the ropes behind him but they didn't move. Justin smiled at him and punched him hard in the ribs.

"I'm just gettin' started freak." He said, once again striking his ribs. He screamed, he begged. They laughed, they hit. And Rachel was nowhere in sight to help him this time.

* * *

Rachel had been halfway up the hill to the football field when Randy Marks and Bill Jones came jogging down. Randy had a roll of ducktape in his hand. They ran toward her, a determined look on their faces. Rachel heard Spencer cry out and tried running around Randy and Bill. They caught her easily and started dragging her toward a metal no parking sign.

"Spencer!" She yelled. "Let go of me you stupid asses, Spence!" She fought against them but they were stronger than her. She heard people laughing and Spencer yell again. Randy pushed Rachel against the pole and Bill ducktaped her hands together. They heard the laughing, turned their heads and smiled. Rachel was still yelling.

"What the hell are you doing to him?" She shrieked. They ignored her. Bill stepped in front of her, satisfied her hands were bound tight enough.

"You can't save your freak now." He said, smiling. She struggled against the ducktape, eager to rip his face off. Suddenly he drew his fist back and hit the side of her head, turning her world black, leaving Spencer completely alone.

--Jeez, it hurt me to write that! Tell me if you liked. More soon!--


	4. Saving

--Man I feel terrible for the last chapter. I hope you guys forgive me!--

4

Spencer desperately wanted to pass out. They had left hours ago, finally leaving him alone. He was freezing, gooseflesh covered his body and he trembled violently, he was exhausted, in severe pain, and above all he just wanted to go home. He had given up trying to free his wrists, which were now swollen and bleeding, hours earlier. His mind wouldn't work. He tried thinking and found his thoughts clouded with the agony that pulsed through his body. His heart pounded in his ears. Flashes of what they did darted across his mind and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was also afraid they'd come back. And what they'd do if they did.

Far off he heard approaching footsteps. He drew his breath in labored, rapid gasps.

_God I was right. I just know I'll be dead by tomorrow._ He thought hopelessly. He let his head hang and his body tensed inwardly, the footsteps crunching the now frosted grass underneath their feet. The person hesitated, Spencer closed his eyes. But the hand that ran across his face and through his hair was warm, comforting and shaking.

"Spence?" The voice asked quietly. Spencer relaxed.

"Ra-Rach-el?"He shivered. She smiled painfully. Her eyes were watery and she was trying not to cry. His eyes were half opened, a fear and dullness curtained over them. She leaned up against him and reached behind him. He stiffened.

"Shhshhhh." She soothed. "Relax Spence. I won't hurt you." He nodded. Rachel started working on the ropes around his wrists. "Spence, I-I'm so sorry. I tried. I tried so hard to help you but they..." She trailed off. Spencer shook his head.

"'S okay." He said. "You couldn't d-do anything." Rachel nodded sadly.

"God Spence I'm sorry." She said. Spencer couldn't reply. The ropes came undone and he fell forward. Rachel caught him quickly and held him close to her. He shivered terribly and he slipped his arms inside her jacket. She ran her hand through his hair. "Shhh, I'm here it's okay." His head lay on her shoulder. He shoved back the tears forming in his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. "I swear I'll get them. I'll kill 'em all." Rachel whispered. Spencer shook his head. Rachel sighed, tears running down her face. "That's the difference between me and you Spence." She said. "You won't hurt anyone." He shook his head again and she laughed painfully.

"Hannnh..." He winced, a cut on his chest throbbing. Rachel gripped him tighter.

"Shhshhhhshhh. It's alright Spencer." She said, caressing the back of his neck. She gently lifted his chin and looked at his face. A deep, purple bruise covered his jaw line. A large cut above his eye and several purple bruises covered his body. Many cuts danced up and down his torso. His back was bruised from the goalpost. Rachel hugged him again. "C'mon Spence I'll take you home."

* * *

Rachel wrapped the blanket from her trunk around Spencer as tight as she could. He had a mild case of hypothermia and a lot of trauma. Spencer kept his eyes closed, shivering, his lips a light shade of blue. Rachel kept telling him it was okay, though she wasn't sure it helped.

Finally they reached his house. His mother had to be worried. It was after 2am. Rachel shut off the engine and got out of the car. She gently helped Spencer out of the car and almost completely supported him to the door. Rachel rapped on the front door.

"Ms. Reid." She called. No answer. "Ms. Reid!" Still nothing. Spencer seemed slightly unaware of what was going on. Rachel turned the knob and was surprised when it turned. She shoved the door open and pulled Spencer along with her. Rachel saw Ms. Reid on the couch, staring straight past them. Rachel hung her head. She didn't even know they were home. "Alright Spence," She whispered. "It's just you and me." She half carried half dragged him down the hall.

They reached his room and she gently sat him down on his bed. She quickly ran into the bathroom and ripped open the medicine cabinet. She knew this place better than her own house. She grabbed the first-aid kit and darted back down the hallway.

Spencer was huddled over, trying to get himself warm. Rachel bent down in front of him.

"It's gonna be okay. I have to clean you up alright?" She said softly. He nodded. She tipped a bottle of peroxide on a rag and held it to the cut on his eye. Spencer jumped back and cried out. "Shh," Rachel soothed. "It's okay, it's okay." She pushed the rag on his eye again.

"Mnnss..." He moaned. Rachel's expression was pained. She hated causing him more pain then he had already endured. When she had cleaned and covered any and every wound he had and got clothes on him, he was ready to collapse. Rachel sat next to him on the bed. He kept his head down. He was still lightly shivering.

"Spence," Rachel said. He looked at her, his soft brown eyes overflowing with pain. "I just realized I haven't asked you this. Are you okay." She asked. Tears instantly formed in his eyes and he shook his head. He wrapped his arms around Rachel and buried his face in her neck. She was crying too. His sobs were shaking her. She ran her hand through his hair and held on tightly with her other arm. "God Spence I'm so sorry." She cried. Spencer pretended not to hear her.

"I am a freak." He sobbed. Rachel was horrified.

"No," She said firmly. "No you're not. No matter what those bitches tell you. You're the most amazing person I've ever met and one day you'll show those bastards why you were so damn smart."

"Sometimes I feel like one." He gulped. Rachel didn't know how to reply. He cried harder and gripped Rachel as hard as he could. She wasn't sure how long she held him, maybe all night, but she kept thinking the same thing over and over.

_I swear I'll kill those bastards. If it's the last thing I do they'll pay for what they did._

_--_More soon! Feedback time!--


	5. Parents

--Sorry it took so long! I got 2 stories going on at once, it's a little crazy!--

5

Once Spencer was asleep Rachel left. She didn't want to, but she wanted her father's beating even less. No one knew her Dad was an angry alcoholic. No one knew her mom was too. No one knew that if she was a minute late for her curfew she got her ass kicked. She knew what was waiting for her when she got home. And wishing her parents weren't drunk was like wishing the sun not to shine.

She glanced at her wrists, hands clutching the steering wheel. They were bruised from the ducktape, but not nearly as bad as Spencer's.

She had woken up and not heard anything. She realized it was dark and late...and cold. She pulled at the ducktape and rubbed her wrists up and down the pole, praying it would cut. And it did. She had darted up the hill, looking around wildly for some sign of him. Then she had found his shirt. Bloodied and ripped. A million bad thougts had gone through her head in less than a second. She continued up the hill, reached the crest, and gasped. A million more thoughts darted into her head.

_God is he breathing? Oh my god he's bleeding. Why the hell would these people do this? He has to be freezing. He has to be in so much pain. Oh god PLEASE tell me he's breathing._

She had walked toward him slowly, not knowing and somewhat hoping this was a bad dream. He was bleeding, and shaking, but he knew good and well she was there. The scenario didn't become real to her until she touched him. His cold, trembling face.

Now she shook the tears out of her eyes. The night would just be perfect if it ended in a car crash. She continued to drive, desperately trying to find _something _else to think about and failing to do so. Finally she pulled up in her driveway. Sore, tired and extremely pissed. She actually kind've hoped her dad would take a swing at her, then she' d have a reason to hurt somebody.

_Those bastards._ She thought. _Those friggin bastards. What the hell did he EVER do to them? In all the times he's been picked on, teased, bullied he has never once retaliated or fought back. Hell after tonight he didn't want me to hurt them. I don't care what he says, this is NOT going to be ignored. They will pay. No matter what. And Principal Stokes will know about this._

She opened her car door and slammed it shut. She wrenched open her front door to the sight she expected to see. Her father glaring angrily at her.

"Where the hell have you been?" He bellowed. Rachel glared back.

"Helping somebody out. Is that a problem?" She said calmly. Dad stood.

"Damn right it's a problem! You got no right bein' out this late!" He was shaking his fist at her and slurring his words.

"My friend needed help." She said simply.

"What? That nerd friend of yours?" He snorted. Rachel's cheeks reddened. "I bet he needed help. I used to beat kids like that."

"Shut the hell up you stupid effing drunk! You have no idea what hell he went through tonight! And I swear to God you talk about him like that ever again I'll kill you!" Her voice was so harsh, fiery and angry her dad actually jumped. Before he could say another word she stalked down the hallway and slammed her bedroom door shut.

She looked around her room, dark, blank faces of the posters on her walls staring around the room. She collapsed on her bed, face down, trying to clear her head. She lay there for awhile, thinking.

_I just want to know why. It doesn't make sense for someone, let alone a group of people, to do that. I hate them, Spencer might not but I do. He was so damn scared..._

Rachel realized abruptly how scared he really was, and how scared he would be when he woke up without her there. She made a split second decision and walked back out her front door, her parents passed out on the couch.

* * *

She grabbed the key under the mat and unlocked the door with ease. It seemed impossible that it was only four a.m. She walked past the still running but silent television in the living room, turned down the hall and quietly opened Spencer's bedroom door. She shut it behind her and sat down in his desk chair.

Spencer was sleeping soundly, although he trembled slightly ever so often. Rachel grasped his hand lightly.

"It's okay Spence," She whispered. "I'm here." She sat in silence for a time and started to doze. A noise woke her, even though she could not remember falling asleep, and she looked around wildly. It didn't take her long to find the source of the noise. Spencer was writhing lightly and whispering so quietly Rachel had to lean closer to hear him.

"No..." He moaned. "Please don't." Rachel shook his shoulder.

"Spence, it's just a dream wake up." She said. He didn't seem to hear her. He spoke louder, as if the dream were intensifying. "Spence." She said, louder. Rachel's heart ached.

"Please stop." He was writhing harder now and when Rachel touched him he jerked away. "God please no!" He yelled, his back arced sharply.

"Spencer!" Rachel yelled. His eyes flew open, he gasped, and sat up into Rachel's arms.

"No," He said, still not fully awake. "Not again. Please not again." Rachel rocked him gently.

"Shhshhshhshhh." She said. "It's okay Spence, it's over." He hugged her close, and Rachel was grateful she came back. He sat back, eyes down, breath still shaky. "Spence," Rachel said. He looked up, soft brown eyes overflowing with fear and hurt. "Spence I promise they can't hurt you anymore."

"I know." He said softly. "It just won't go away." Rachel moved onto the bed and hugged him again. "I just want it to go away." He whispered. Rachel nodded, tearing up.

"You need to sleep." She said. Spencer shook his head.

"No, no I can't." He said frantically.

"It'll be okay. I'm right here." She said. Spencer was exhausted but sleeping was the last thing he wanted to do. He'd have to enter that hell again. Rachel let go of him and laid down. Spencer followed and she pulled him close to her. "Just remember, I'm right here." Spencer leaned closer to her as an answer. Soon they were both asleep, and two-and-a-half hours later, Rachel was ready to get back at the bastards.

--Yay! Review time!--


	6. Requiem

--I'm Baaack!--

6

No matter what Rachel said, Spencer wouldn't listen. He wanted to go to school. He didn't want those people to know they had hurt him, or scared him. He called it pride, she called it stubborn.

"I'm not being stubborn Rachel." He said for the third time. "It will give them the satisfaction they want if I don't show up. It'll only stoke the fire. They might even try it again." He shuddered at the thought, as did Rachel.

"You are too being stubborn. You won't take anything I say into account. You're pretty banged up Spence and I don't want to give them the chance to hurt you again." She said crossly, arms folded, brows furrowed. She was worried about him. She was scared to death they _would _do it again and it would only be worse next time. She was scared they would do or say something at school to humiliate him further. And Spencer knew that. He understood the risks of being there today, but this time he wasn't afraid, this time Rachel was right there. He reached forward and grasped her hand.

"I promise, I'll be alright. As long as you're around they can't touch me." Rachel looked at the ground.

"I was supposed to be with you last night and look what happened." She said quietly. He squeezed her hand gently.

"That wasn't your fault. If anything it was mine. I should've known better than to go with Abby. I should've known they would have tried something like that." He was keeping his voice as steady as possible, desperately wishing the haunting memories would stay at bay. "I'll be okay Rachel."

"I'm reporting them." She said. Spencer sighed.

"Why?" He asked. Her cheeks instantly reddened.

"What the hell do you mean why? After what they did to you you honestly think I am going to sit here and do nothing?" She yelled. Spencer smiled lightly.

"No, I just think it's funny when you get mad." He said, referring back to their conversation yesterday. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"How do you do that?" She asked.

"Rachel we've gone over this a thousand times with other people. My memory-" Rachel shook her head.

"No, I meant, How do you make me feel better no matter how bad a situation is?" She said warmly. Spencer shrugged.

"I guess I just know how to make you feel better. That's why I'm your best friend." He said. Rachel shoved his arm.

"You're a dork." She teased.

"I know. And please, don't report them. That'll just make things worse."

* * *

Girls were easy to ruin. rumors that were actually true could ruin your entire school career. And Holly was far from scott-free. When she was a freshman, this was relayed to Rachel via friend named Natalie, it was rumored that she had had sex with the entire varsity football team, and it was caught on school surveillance. The last part was only confirmed by Rachel herself.

One of her classes was office education, where she ran errands for the secretaries and was allowed in any part of the office that was off limits to other students. Surveillance archives was one of those areas.

Finding the files were easy, as was putting them on the school's preset homepage and had them run on a loop was easy. Making sure she wouldn't get caught was a little harder. She had to bounce the server she was using to about three hundred other locations and make sure she was in no way shape or form linked to the files. Once that was done, all she had to do was wait. Rachel ignored a lot of things, but not when Spencer had taught her about computers.

It was on Youtube by nine. Holly didn't know about it until ten. She tried deleting it from the homepage but it was too late. It hit Myspace, Facebook, and any other social chat room you could think of. It was sent in E-mails, uploaded onto ipods with video, and this was all in the first hour.

Teachers scattered frantically around the school, shutting down computers and desperately trying to figure out how to get the terrible videos off of their network. They didn't get it removed until the technicians showed up, at one thirty that afternoon. By then it was so far in the Internet web it would never come out. It was officially stuck and would remain that way the rest of Holly's life.

Rachel was pleased with her work. Holly's popularity went down instantly, and her friends went down with her. People laughed, scoffed, mocked and shunned Holly. She was now a social outcast and a school laughing stock. But that wasn't the only story spreading like wildfire around the school. The tale of the football team's little plight was the other big one. Rachel had to hit about ten people before the bell rang that morning.

Boys were a little hard when it came to ruining their life. But one place football players could get in the most trouble would be with the principal. And that's where Rachel intended to go. She didn't want to ignore what Spencer said but she really didn't have a choice. So she opened Principal Stokes' office door and went inside, determined on getting justice. She knew that was really lame to use those choice words but it was all that came to mind.

"Miss Jones." Mr. Stokes said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you?" He asked. He was already stressed enough. Teachers had been storming in his office all morning wanting an explanation for the website and they only got angrier when he had no explanation to give. Now Rachel Jones was sitting in his office, also looking grim.

"I have an issue I wish to speak to you about." She said bluntly.

"If this is about Holly-" He began. Rachel shook her head.

"No this has nothing to do with Holly." She sighed. "This is about Spencer." Stokes looked down at his hands, which were placed firmly on his desk.

"Yes, I heard about that." He said. Rachel was uncertain she had heard him correctly.

"What...you mean you know about it?" She asked, incredulous.

"Yes Miss Jones I have." He still wouldn't look at her.

"And why haven't you done anything?" She asked. Stokes sighed.

"Mr. Marks parents make considerable funds to this school as do many other of his teammates parents. Persecuting their sons would stop those funds indefinitely." He said slowly. Rachel scowled.

"Are you telling me that after what they did you aren't going to do anything...because of money?" She asked coldly. Stokes nodded.

"It isn't something I'm proud of Miss Jones," He said. "But this school has to stay money conscious. We have outstanding bills to pay and over six hundred students who need a high school. And if I have to choose them over one student, I will." Rachel was infuriated.

"You do realize that if you won't do something I will." She said, face red but tone even. This wasn't anything close to right. This was corrupt and wrong. No one was willing to do anything. No one except her. To her surprise Stokes nodded at her comment.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you Miss Jones. Mr. Reid is lucky to have such a friend." He said. Rachel stood and opened the door.

"Too bad I'm his only one." She said. "I'm the only one in the whole damn world who'll help him. And dammit I'm gonna do it right." She shut the door and left her ashamed principal alone to deal with the website matter.

There was one other way to ruin a football player's life...get him off the team.

--Can you guys do me a favor and push that gorgeous purple button down there? C'mon, you know you want to.--


	7. Kicked off

-- Hey there lovelies! Vengeance will be sweet I promise!--

7

Spencer's day was not going as well as Rachel's. In the classes she was with him everything was remotely okay. But, as usual, when Rachel wasn't around things got worse.

"Your eye hurt freak?" Someone shouted.

"Finally someone kicked his ass!" Yelled another. People bumped into him purposely, agitating the bruises on his torso. He nearly dropped his books at least three times. The players that had tormented him the night before boasted and bragged about what they had done. Holly as well.

"I mean honestly," She said to a girlfriend, knowing he was within earshot. "What the hell did he think I was going to do? Like I'd ever be caught dead with a freak like that." She and her friend laughed hysterically, Spencer kept his head down and continued walking.

_What did I think she was going to do? _He asked himself. _I didn't really know what she wanted. My first assumption was she wanted educational help. Other than that I really didn't think of anything else._ He reached his locker and dialed the combination quickly. Teacher's avoided his eyes in classroom's. Once in awhile they'd glance at the cut on his eye or the bruise on his jaw, but hurriedly went back to what they were doing when they saw him looking at them. He felt anxious, he had all day. Every time he turned a corner he half expected the football team to be there waiting for him...again.

The story of last night spread like wildfire around the school. But after first hour another started. Holly, three years ago and the varsity football team, caught on tape, on school grounds. Spencer never believed rumors unless he could prove them. And when he went into the library the next hour he had his proof. Computers don't lie and there was no sign of photoshop anywhere.

Holly first ran to her boyfriend and told him it wasn't true. He dumped her thirty seconds later. Her friends abandoned her in minutes. And during third hour passing period she unknowingly leaned up against the locker next to Spencer's. Her eyes were closed and she sighed. Spencer frowned.

"Not so funny now is it?" He said softly. Holly's eyes opened quickly and she stared at him.

"No, it's not." Her forehead furrowed and she bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry." She whispered. Then she was gone without another word. Spencer was stunned. He had expected her to throw an insult at him, instead she had apologized. Rachel watched Holly walk away from his locker and across the hall.

"Was she harassing you?" She asked harshly. Spencer shook his head.

"She apologized." He said, still amazed. Rachel's fists unclenched.

"What?" she aked. Spencer shrugged.

"She said she was sorry." He said. Rachel smiled lightly.

_Mission accomplished. _She told herself. _After this afternoon all will be right with the world. And this girl's revenge didn't even get anyone hurt. _

"What?" Spencer asked her, nticing her mannerisms. Rachel shook her head.

"Nothin'." She said innocently. Spencer glared at her.

"You didn't have anything to do with this did you?" He asked. Rachel shook her head again. "Rachel...Why did you do that?"

"I don't know." She said honestly. "I didn't want anyone to get physically hurt and this seemed like plausible payback." She said. Spencer sighed, hand on his forehead.

"What did you do to the football team?" He asked. Rachel bit her lower lip.

"Got enough evidence to get them kicked off the team." She said quietly. Spencer threw his arms up.

"Why would you do that?" He asked. Rachel opened her moth but he continued. "Never mind I know why you did it. But don't you think they'll come after us?" He asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Nope." She said simply.

"What makes you so sure?" He said. Rachel smiled.

"They'll think Holly did it." She said. Sencer was confused.

"Why would Holly do it?"

"Because she thinks the football team played their senoir prank on her."

"Why would she think that?"

"Because that's what I posted at the bottom of the videos." She grinned. Spencer smiled too, but not because he was happy about what she did, but because he was amazed at his friends handy-work.

* * *

Coah Connor was pissed. Thoroughly pissed. He had found steroids in not one, not two, not three or even four but five of his players lockers. And his best players at that, including the starting quarter back.

"What the hell boys?" He yelled. "We have a play-off game this Friday. If we win this we go to state and you throw all of that away for 'roids?" The boys shook their heads.

"Coach," Art said. "We didn't take those." He said. Coach Connor smiled grimly.

"We'll just see about that."

It had been three days since the players had taken the drug test, and they all came back positive.

"So," Coach said. "Not only do you throw an entire season, but you lie to me as well."

"Coah I swear-" Art began. Coah interrupted.

"I don't want to hear it Marks!" He bellowed. He rubbed his forehead, eyes closed. "Hand in your uniforms and get the hell off my field." He said. The player's shoulders drooped and they left.

--More soon!!--


	8. Moving

--Hey guys! You wanted more, you got it!--

8

Rachel had been right. The jocks thought Holly framed them and Holly thought they humiliated her. After a giant screaming match in the hallway and a few detentions were assigned there was nothing mentioned about Spencer, or Rachel or anything about what had happened the night before. And that was the end of it. Well, at least when it came to people not talking about it. Yes it still bothered Spencer but Rachel had done her job as his best friend. and she continued to do so right up until the day she moved two years later.

"What do you mean you're moving?" He asked her. They were graduating in a week and Spencer realized he was going to college but he wouldn't be able to visit her. And that was crushing.

"Yeah, Dad just kind've sprang it on us." She said quietly. Spencer sighed.

"When and where?" He said, exasperated. Rachel stared at the ground.

"Thursday, Montana." She whispered. Spencer's eyes widened.

"Thursday? Rachel that's two days away!"

"I know" she sighed. "And I'm pissed about it." She pushed the dirt under her shoe around.

"This, this is just...this isn't fair." He said. Rachel nodded. "Moving causes so many problems for kids. Especially those who have lived in one place their whole life. Most kids who move out of their comfort zone develop "home" issues and drive it into everyone around them that they need to value their home more than they do and-"

"Spence!" Rachel said. Spencer stopped and looked at her. Tears had appeared in her hazel eyes. "My parents don't think the way you do. They don't care about me or what I want. This is about them the same way it has been my entire life. You know that." She said. Spencer rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know." He said. "That doesn't mean I have to accept it." Rachel put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes you do." She said firmly. "I told you before Spence, you're gonna do great things for this world. And you don't need me around to do so."

"I need you more than you know." He whispered, staring at the ground. Rachel lifted his chin.

"You are gonna be fine without me. And who knows, maybe I'll see you again someday." She said smiling. Spencer smiled softly back.

"The probability of that is very slim." He said. Rachel shrugged.

"I've seen weirder things happen." She said.

"Like what?" He asked. Rachel's smile turned into a grin.

"I saw a fourteen year old boy read 20,000 words in a minute." She said. Spencer hugged her, and she hugged him as tight as she could. "I'm gonna miss you." She whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"I'll miss you too." He said. They hugged for what felt like forever, knowing that in two days they would never do so again.

* * *

Spencer was there when she left. A U-Haul truck ws loaded and ready, as was the family's car. Rachel stood in front of him, looking around at the house she would never see again.

"I guess this is it." She said. Spencer nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." He said sadly.

"God," Rachel said, tearing up once more. "I'm gonna miss you so much." She said, hugging him again. Spencer felt tears in his eyes too.

"I'll miss you more Rachel." He said.

"Rachel!" Her dad bellowed. "Lets go!" She pulled away from Spencer and wiped her eyes.

"I'm coming!" She yelled back. She sighed and looked at Spencer.

"Goodbye Rachel." He said.

"Bye Spence." She said, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in the back of her throat. She opened the car door and got into the backseat. Her dad followed suit, her mother already inside. Spencer stepped back and winced when the cars engine turned on. The car began to pull out of the drive. Spencer was prepared for never seeing Rachel again, but not for what she said right before she left.

He saw her lean the top half of her body out of the car and shouted back:

"I love you Spence!" She yelled. Spencer was taken aback by her statement, but was more surprised at himself when he said:

"I love you too Rachel!" He shouted. Rachel waved and disappeared back into the car and was soon out of sight.

That was the last time he had seen Rachel Jones. Eight years ago. Now he was working in the BAU. Doing great things, at least for this country, just like Rachel had said.

They were in Albany New York investigating what might be a serial killer. Spencer and the other members of the BAU were just entering the city's police department.

"We will be talking to the head investigator of this case," Hotch said. "This entire department has been working non-stop to find this killer and still have found nothing."

"I suppose that's where we come in?" J.J. asked. Hotch nodded.

"They waited this long to call us out of pride and they know it. No need to point it out. Although this could have stopped months ago if we had been called what matters is we're here now."

"So, they make a mistake and we aren't allowed to talk about it?" Spencer asked. J.J. smiled.

"We all know how much fun that is for you Reid but that would only slow the investigation down." She said. Morgan and Prentice laughed.

"Right." Spencer said. They all turned when an office door opened and a young woman stepped out.

"Agent Hotchner?" She asked Hotch, who nodded and extended his hand. The woman shook it.

"This is Detective Jones. Detective Jones these are Agent Morgan, Agent Jerode, Agent Prentice, Agent Rossi and Agent-"

"Spencer Reid." Detective Jones finished. Hotch's brows raised. As did everyone else's. Spencer was confused.

"I-I'm sorry I don't think we've ever met." He said. Detective Jones grinned.

"Well I see how I rate Spence." She grinned. The rest of the team watched the two back and forth as if they were watching Wimbledon. Spencer's eyes widened.

"Rachel?" He said quietly.

"Unless you have another best friend with that name then yes." She said. Spencer smiled, walked up to her and hugged her.

Morgan and J.J. looked sideways at eachother, sly grins on their faces. Morgan cleared his throat.

"Reid is this someone we should know about?" He asked, grin still in place. Spencer flushed.

"Um, this is Rachel Jones. Uh, I knew her in High School." Rachel grinned. Morgan smiled at J.J. again. J.J. leaned sideways and whispered:

"Garcia's gonna freak."

--Oo, what's gonna happen now that she's back? Tell me if you liked it!--


	9. Back

--Hey y'all I'm back and ready to rock! P.S. I misspelled J.J.'s last name! I sorry. I also sorry it took so damn long to post!!--

9

"No way."

"Yes way."

"Like a girl, girl?"

"Yup."

"And this is Reid we're talking about?"

"Yes Garcia." J.J said. Garcia giggled.

"I bet she's pretty, is she pretty? I bet she's pretty." She asked with so much enthusiasm and energy J.J. wondered if the phone would explode.

"Yeah she is." She said, chuckling. Garcia squealed.

"I knew it!" She said. J.J. held the phone away from her ear. "Where are they now?" She asked. J.J. sighed.

"Standing about ten feet away from me talking really fast." She said.

"Aw..." Garcia cooed. J.J. shook her head. "Now I know that wasn't the only reason you called." Garcia said.

"Yeah um, I need you to see if any of these people have a connection to eachother. Hotch wants you to check employment, high-school, if they lived in the same area, and anywhere else you can think of." She could hear Penelope's fingers already clicking on the keyboard.

"Yeah sweetie I'll get that back to you as soon as I can." Garcia said.

"Thanks Garcia." J.J. said. Garcia grinned.

"I live to serve my dear." She hung up. J.J. closed her phone.

"So were you right?" Reid asked.

"About what?"

"Did Garcia freak?"

"Yeah." J.J. laughed.

* * *

"So," Rachel said. "Profiler huh?" She smiled. Spencer shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah." He smiled lightly. "Detective huh?" Rachel scratched the back of her head.

"Yeah." They stood in silence for a moment. "So how've you been?" She asked.

"I've been better." He said. Rachel's brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" She asked. He shrugged.

"This job is just tiring sometimes." He said. Rachel sighed.

"Spence don't you think I know when you're lying?"

"Touche." He sighed. "This last case we had...it brought back some memories I didn't want." He said quietly. Rachel put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asked. He shrugged again.

"The funny thing is I don't really know." He looked at the ground. Rachel shook her head.

"After all these years this is the last subject I want to talk about." She said. "We have got to catch up." She said, changing the subject. Spencer nodded.

"Name the time and place." He said. She smiled.

"I know this bar a little further uptown. The atmosphere is a little rugged but the food's great." She said. "And I say we go...mm...after we finish this case up."

"Sounds good." He said. As soon as he did Hotch walked up, just finishing talking to someone on the phone.

"That was Garcia. She found the connection between victims." He said. "They all went to the same high school."

"Which highschool?" Morgan asked.

"It's not from around here." Hotch sighed.

"So this guy does his homework?" Morgan said. Hotch nodded.

"They all went to James Madison High." Rachel's eyes widened, Spencer went pale. Prentice looked at them.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"That, that was where Spence and I went to school." Rachel said. Rossi sighed.

"That makes both of you possible victims." He said. Morgan remained silent. He needed no explanation for Reid's behavior, he just hoped no one else would either.

"What were the names of the victims again?" Spencer asked, trying to take some of the spotlight off of him and Rachel.

"Uh," J.J. said. "Arthur Marks, Hannah Talbot, Abby Johnson, Justin Beachner, Alan Patterson and Alicia Tanner." She looked up from the piece of paper she had been reading from. "Did you guys know them?" She asked. Rachel clenched her jaw.

"Yeah we did." She said. Spencer tried keeping his expression blank.

"Excuse me, Detective Jones?" An officer said, tapping Rachel on the shoulder. She turned around.

"This had better be good." She said coldly. He nodded.

"They just found another body." He said.

* * *

Parks were a major body dump sight in New York, but usually they were found in a dark corner or off some trail that nobody used anymore. This one was different. The body was laid out in plain sight.

"He wanted us to find this." Rossi said. "He knows we're here and watching. This body was a message to us." He said.

"But we just got here how the hell would he know about us?" Emily asked.

"This message wasn't for you." Rachel said. "It was for us." She looked at Spencer.

"How can you tell?" J.J. asked. Spencer glanced at the football lying next to Holly's body.

"We just can." He said. Hotch stepped forward.

"Reid if there's something we need to know that's relevant to this case you can't keep that a secret." He said. Reid thought for a moment, looking for an ultimatum, or some way out.

"There was an incident when we were in school." Rachel said. Morgan and Spencer's eyes grew. "I got beat up once. It was pretty bad. Spence helped me out. The whole school knew about it. This guy's trying to mess with our heads. This girl Holly, and the others as well were a major part of it. Spence didn't want to embarrass me or bring back old memories." She sighed. Spencer did everything in his power not to let his jaw drop. Morgan looked confused.

"We need to go back to the station, try and get a profile started." Prentice stated. The others nodded and began walking to the cars.

"Hey Reid," Morgan called. Spencer turned. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Spencer nodded and gestured for rachel to go ahead without him.

"Something wrong?" He asked. Morgan shook his head.

"You told me that was you in school. Why didn't you just tell me it was a friend?"

"No," Spencer shook his head. "That wasn't her Morgan it was me. She was covering for me...as usual." Morgan's brows furrowed.

"She just lied to federal agents." He said harshly.

"I know," Spencer sighed. "But what was I supposed to say? Wait stop she's lying?" Morgan scratched his head. "I can't tell them Morgan." Spencer said quietly. "I just can't."

"In the end you might have to." He said. He squeezed Spencer's shoulder and walked toward the cars like the others. Spencer shut his eyes.

_Why does this have to be about us? This was something I never wanted to remember. _He sighed, and followed Morgan.

--Once again I apologize for the tardiness of my chapter! Feedback would be greatly appreciated! ; ) --


	10. The Truth

--Hey guys I gots more!--

10

"Why did you lie?" Spencer asked Rachel. They were standing off to the side while the others were engulfed in information about the case, trying to get a profile for this unsub.

"I don't know Spence." She shrugged. "I know how much you _love _the lime light and...I guess I'm used to protecting you. It just came out." Spencer rubbed his forehead.

"They are going to find out." He said. "And...I don't want them to." He said quietly. Rachel sighed.

"I know Spence. Your business is your business. You've been that way since we were kids." She said. "We can get through this. We've been through worse." Spencer wasn't assured.

"These people are good at their job. They have to be. They will find out, and I don't want them looking at me different." He said. He knew what all of their reactions would be. He knew what Morgan was going to do before he did it. He couldn't bear to think of the expressions that would be on their faces. He hated the spotlight. That's why he got this job. To focus on other people and not him.

"Reid we need you." Morgan said. He nodded and looked apologetically at Rachel. She shook her head and gestured for him to go. She heard the phone in her office ring and stepped out of the lobby.

"Hello?" She answered. The other line was silent for a moment. Rachel hit the record button on the phone, thinking it might be their unsub.

"Yes," A man's voice said. "I need to speak with Dr. Reid. I work at the facility his mother's in." He said. Rachel was worried.

"Is she alright?" She asked. The man chuckled.

"She'll be just fine. I really need to speak with Dr. Reid though." He said.

"Yes, uh, hang on just a second." She set the receiver down on her desk and walked back into the lobby. "Spence," She called. He turned. "You got a phone call. The guy said it's about your Mom." Spencer nodded and walked toward her, worry clear on his face. He walked past her and into her office.

"Hello?" He said. The other end was silent. "Hello?"

"Is this Spencer Reid?" The man asked.

"Yes it is. May I help you?" He said. He knew right away this had nothing to do with his mother.

"I'm the one that's helping you Spencer." He said. Spencer's eyes grew.

"Look, um, maybe we could meet somewhere and I could talk to you-"

"No no I don't think so." The man said. "That wouldn't be very smart on my part. And I've been pretty smart so far. Getting the number to Rachel's desk was easy. Yes Spencer I know about Rachel. I know everything that happened that night. I'm going to continue to help you Spencer. Whether you want me to or not." The line went dead.

* * *

Rachel looked up from her desk to see Spencer walking out of her office, a deeply worried look on his face. She stood as he entered her office.

"Is your Mom okay?" She asked.

"That wasn't about my mother." He said. She was concerned.

"Then what was it about?" She said. He closed his eyes.

"Me, and you. That night. He's killing these people because of me." He said. Rachel shook her head.

"No. This was about what they did to you. This guy's just acting as an angel of vengeance." She said.

"None of this, absolutely none of it, would have happened if I had just stayed in the library." Spencer said, running a hand through his hair. Rachel grasped his shoulders.

"Spencer dammit this isn't your fault!" She yelled. She looked into Spencer's brown eyes, which were tearing up. She pulled him close to her and hugged him tight. "It's not your fault." She said gently.

* * *

"It's someone from we know." Rachel said. Hotch's brows furrowed. They were in the station's conference room sitting around a large wooden table.

"How can you tell?" He asked. Rachel sighed.

"We got a phone call." She said. Rossi stood.

"And why are we just finding out about this now?" He asked harshly.

"Because we got the call less than ten minutes ago. When I answered-"

"I answered it." Spencer said. Rachel went pale. J.J.'s forehead creased. "I answered and talked to the unsub. He wanted to speak to me."

"Why?" Prentice asked. "If this is about what happened to Rachel, why would he want to talk to you? It doesn't fit the profile." Hotch sighed.

"Yes it does. We're thinking of the wrong person." He looked at Spencer. Morgan looked down. J.J.'s jaw dropped, Emily's as well. Rossi's brows raised. Spencer looked at the floor. "We need to know what happened Reid. We always try and get every minute detail to help. We need this." Hotch said.

Rachel frowned. _Why can't this go away? He doesn't need anymore of this. _Spencer gulped. This was the one thing, the number one thing, he never wanted any of them to know. Morgan caught his eye and nodded.

Spencer told them everything he remembered, which was almost everything that happened. He swallowed the lump that repeatedly came back in his throat. Rachel never looked at him. She didn't look at anyone. J.J stared at her hands, face white. Prentice hadn't moved from her jaw-opened state. Hotch sat stony faced. Rossi's face was unreadable.

"...It kind of faded away from public knowledge after that." He finished quietly, eyes downcast. J.J. stood, wiping her eyes.

"I'll be right back." She said. Prentice stood as well.

"Me too."

"We recorded the phone call." Rachel muttered.

"We can get it to Garcia and see if she can get anything on it." Hotch said. Morgan shook his head.

"Someone's gonna have to tell her what's going on." He said. Garcia's reaction to this would not be pretty.

"You tell her. You guys are close." Rossi said.

"Alright." He sighed, standing. "But it's not gonna go well." He walked out of the room. Hotch looked at Reid.

"Are you gonna be alright?" He asked. Spencer shrugged.

"I have been for this long." He said. Hotch sighed and stood. "Reid this isn't your fault." He said. Spencer nodded. Hotch and Rossi left, leaving Spencer and Rachel alone. She sat in the chair next to him and lifted his chin.

"Really, are you okay?" She asked. Spencer closed his eyes.

"Rachel I honestly don't know."

--Over the teeth and through the gums look out purple button here you come!--


	11. Things We Now Know

--Hey honeys!--

11

"No, no, no, no. That's just so awful." Garcia said, blowing her nose. "Derrick why the hell would tell me that?" She asked. Morgan sighed.

"Baby girl it's relevant to the case." He said.

"But why did you have to tell me?" She asked, a sob obvious in her throat. "Now I'm mad and sad." Morgan smiled lightly.

"Garcia I'm sorry baby. I'm just doin' what I was told. Now calm down I need you to do something for me." He said.

"Fire away honey." She said, wiping her eyes with a tissue.

"We got a recording of the unsub. I want you to analyze it. See if you can find out where he is alright baby girl?" He said gently.

"If it's for our poor baby Reid I'd kill someone. Which I'm actually contemplating whether to kill every football player alive right now." She said simply. Morgan grinned.

"There's my girl. Thanks Garcia." He shut his phone and turned to J.J.

"How angry was she?" J.J. asked. Morgan sighed.

"Angry is an understatement." He said. J.J. nodded.

"This has to be one of the top ten bad cases we've had." She said. Morgan nodded. "I mean who the hell would want to do that to an innocent boy?" She asked, voice raised.

"The same people that tie innocent girls to box-springs and electrocute them." He said. J.J. nodded and sighed.

"Good point." She said. "It's just not fair. He didn't deserve that." She said softly. Morgan rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I know J.J. No one deserves that. But right now we have to catch this guy." He said. J.J. laughed ruefully.

"That seems a little backwards. I mean, after what they did should we really stop this guy?"

"You already know the answer to that J.J." Morgan said. J.J. bowed her head.

"Did you talk to Garcia?" Rossi asked as he approached them.

"Yeah she said she'd see what she could do." Morgan said.

"Is she alright?"

"Yeah, just really pissed off."

"I think we all are." Emily said. "This is just bad all the way around." Rossi shook his head.

"No it doesn't seem like justice does it?" He said.

"We aren't the one who make that call." Said Hotch. "We profile the killers, no matter who we're saving."

"It just sucks." J.J. said. They all nodded. Hotch reached in his pocket and retrieved his phone.

"What do you got Garcia?"

* * *

Spencer had a throbbing headache. It didn't mean he couldn't think it just made him a little short with people. He was already having a _really _bad day and just wanted it all to stop. He wanted to wake up and let this all be a bad dream. The only good thing that had come out of today was seeing Rachel again.

"Why do they have to know? Why did I have to tell them? Why does it have to be like this?" He whispered, rubbing his temples. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up quickly. Rachel smiled sadly back at him. He bowed his head again."My head hurts." He said. Rachel nodded.

"I know. You always get that look on your face when you have a headache." She said. Spencer sighed.

"This was the last thing on the planet I wanted them to know." He said. "And I was right. Whether they want to admit it or not they look at me different. Like I'm one of the victims we have to help every day."

"Spencer they're your friends. They care about you. They feel terrible for what happened to you. That's all. And in a way you are a victim." She said. Spencer stood, jaw set.

"I just want to get this case over with." He said. Rachel nodded again.

"Garcia may have found him." Hotch said, entering the conference room, followed by everybody else. "She tracked the recording to a motel room a few minutes from here. We're going there now." He said. The others nodded and stood. While they were leaving Hotch went over to Spencer. "Reid you don't have to go. If this is going to be too hard stay here." Spencer shook his head.

"I'll be alright." He lied. "I'm treating this like a normal case."

"The rest of us are trying to." Hotch said, and left the room. Spencer flexed his jaw. He had a bad feeling, and nothing ever went right when he felt like that.

They reached the room and, not to their surprise, found it empty. Apparently the person, whom the owner of the motel described as a older man with dark hair and dark eyes, had left a few hours earlier and was expected to return.

"Then we'll be here when he gets back." Rossi told the woman. The room looked normal. A few pieces of clothing lying here and there, not as clean as when you fist got there but messy enough to show you'd been there for awhile.

"He doesn't seem to be that organized." Rossi said. Reid looked around the room and shook his head.

"No he is. The way the room is set up looks like he wanted it to look messy. Like it was purposely done. He's trying to keep up apearences so he doesn't appear to be identifiable." Spencer said. "Like how the clothes are on the floor but they look like they were put there carefully." The others nodded.

Prentice opened the closet and gasped.

"You guys need to see this." She said. They walked over and huddled around the door. Stacks of newspapers, yearbooks and some sort of cloth were scattered inside. The walls were covered so much there was no visible sign of any wall at all. Emily picked up the pice of white cloth lying on top of a box.

"Is that a shirt?" Morgan asked. There were faded red spatters on it and it was torn almost beyond recognition. Spencer inhaled sharply and backed away. Rachel looked as if she was going to be sick.

"It's mine." Spencer whispered, a solitary tear sliding down his cheek. They were too close now. He had no doubt that they would soon find out what no one knew besides him and one other person. And that other person wasn't Rachel.

--Uh-oh cliffie! More soon review time!!--


	12. Reaping

--I told you! I'm like lightning huh?--

12

"It's mine." Spencer whispered. They all turned, horrified.

"Wh-what?" J.J. said, face pale. Morgan, Emily and everyone else looked sick. Spencer couldn't take his eyes away from the shirt. The shirt he hadn't seen for eight years. The shirt he never wanted to see again. But there seemed to be a lot of things coming up today that he never wanted to talk about, say, hear or see again. Spencer looked down.

"It's mine." He repeated, angrily shoving the tears out of his eyes and swallowing the lump in his throat. Rachel walked over to him. She put a hand on his face and found he was shaking. Pain filled her eyes.

"Spence it's okay." She said softly. Spencer sighed and closed his eyes.

"Rachel I know who it is." He whispered. He felt the rest of the team's eyes on him. He knew what they were thinking, and how they were looking at him.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"There's something I never told you about. Something I never told anyone...ever."

* * *

**October, 8 years ago**

Before the sun set. Before Rachel found him. While he was enduring their awful torture, he told Rachel that people came and watched, he never specified who.

Justin had just delivered a particularly nasty blow to his ribs, knocking the wind out of him.

"OHHuh! PLEASE!" He tried to scream. Justin and they others laughed. Suddenly there was a hush over the crowd. Utter silence, minus Spencer's moans of agony.

"Principal Stokes." Justin said, terrified. Spencer sighed, relieved. He was safe.

"What's going on here Justin?" Stokes asked, walking closer to Spencer.

"I-uh, we-um..." He fumbled, trying to think of some sort of excuse. Stokes was right in front of Spencer.

"It looks like you're beating up this poor boy." He said.

_Why is he just standing there? _Spencer thought, his beaten, naked body shaking. _Why isn't he helping me? Oh, god it hurts. _

"Do you have any excuse?" Stokes asked. Justin bowed his head.

"No sir." Justin said. Stokes nodded and started to turn and face Justin. Before he did he came back around and struck Spencer's face with his fist. Spencer's head darted sideways, blood filling his mouth and slowly falling over his lips. He was confused, hurt, and more scared then he already had been.

Stokes grabbed a handful of Spencer's hair and twisted his head up to face him. "This may be a school but academics isn't our main focus. Sports makes us more money than your pathetic little mind ever could. You're ruining my school." He struck Spencer's already bruised ribs.

"MMMNA!" He yelled. Stokes stepped back and released Spencer's hair. He looked at Justin and the others.

"Carry on." He said. And Spencer's only shred of hope then walked off of the football field, leaving the pack of wolves he called football players to taunt their prey for several more hours.

* * *

**October, Now**

"Spence why didn't you tell me?" Rachel asked. Spencer sighed, eyes closed.

"I don't know. But why do you think I told you not to report them." He said, tears cascading down his face. Rachel pulled him to her.

"God Spence why didn't you just tell me?" She whispered. Emily looked sick, as did Morgan. J.J.'s eyes were fiery, a look ready to kill. Hotch and Rossi were mouthing to each other, brows creased.

Rachel squeezed Spencer tight, running her hand through his hair, like she did years before. After a few moments he let go of her.

"He's doing this because he feels remorse for letting it happen. This is how he's trying to repent." Spencer said. Rachel nodded.

"He's here." Hotch said, glancing out the window. Morgan walked out of the room and down the hall, in case Stokes tried to run out the back door. Prentice and Rossi went out into the lobby so he couldn't get out the front. Rachel, Hotch, and Spencer stayed in the room. Spencer's heart thudded in his throat. The door opened a few minutes later.

Stokes came in and found guns aimed at his chest. And there was Rachel and Spencer, eight years older.

"Kevin Stokes don't move." Hotch said calmly. Morgan came in behind him. Stokes put his hands in the air, his eyes trained on Spencer.

"I was only trying to help you." Stokes said. "I feel so terrible for what I let happen to you." Rachel's jaw was set, eyes ablaze.

"Killing those people didn't make what you did right." She growled.

"I was trying to help him." Stokes said. Morgan came up behind him and began to cuff his hands.

"What they did to me, and what you did to me will never go away." Spencer said. "Ever." Morgan turned him around roughly and started shoving him out the door. Stokes' jaw was set, anger in his eyes.

"I was right!" Stokes yelled. "You are pathetic!" Morgan shoved him harder.

"You have the right to remain silent." He said through clenched teeth. Rachel stepped forward, fists clenched, knuckles white. Hotch grabbed her shoulder.

"You'll only make it worse." He said. She backed down.

"That bastard. He had no right-"

"I know." Hotch interrupted. "He got angry because Reid didn't accept his apology and he went for the throat. And I'm not saying it was his fault." Spencer's knees gave out underneath him and he sat down on the bed. Rachel sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder.

"He's wrong." She said. "You are far from pathetic." She said. Spencer said nothing. "Now when it comes to the whole dork thing you're about negative eight steps away." She grinned. Spencer smiled back.

"Yeah well, I may be a dork but you're best friends with a dork." He said. Rachel laughed.

"So, am I going to see you in the next ten years?" He asked.

"Yeah," Rachel nodded. "You'll see me tonight at seven. We still gotta catch up." She said, still smiling.

"Oh, right. I forgot." He said.

"Spence, if you don't wanna go because of the past few days you don't have to." She assured.

"No," He said, shaking his head. "I wanna go. I missed you." Rachel smiled, Spencer blushed.

--Aw look its a Kodiak moment...hey get that bear out of here! LOL It's that time again! Push that prettyful button, you want to and you know it ; ) --


	13. Apology and Bold

--Hey, what's up?--

13

"Why the hell didn't you tell me about that?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," Spencer shrugged. "I guess it just didn't seem important." He said. Rachel took a drink of her Coke.

"Spence I think getting kidnapped justifies as important. And the aftermath? What that ass got you into? Yeah Spence that's not important at _all_." She smirked. Her expression changed to stern. "That's not the only reason you didn't tell me is it?" She asked. Spencer didn't answer. "You thought I'd get mad right?" She said.

"And you're not?" He said sarcastically. Rachel shook her head.

"No I'm not. That wasn't your fault you had no control over it. Hell no I'm not mad." She smiled. He sighed, relieved.

"That's always good to hear." He smiled. She grinned back.

"So was I right? Is the food phenomenal or what?" She said.

"Yeah you were right." He grinned. They'd been talking here for about two hours now, catching up.

Rachel and her family stayed in Montana for a whole year. Then her Dad got arrested for abuse and drunk driving, he's still in jail now. Her Mom went crazy without her husband and took off. Rachel had just turned eighteen. She took everything out of her dad's savings and checking account and transferred it to her own. She went to Maryland to attend Notre Dame University in Baltimore. From there she became a cop and worked her way up to be the youngest detective Albany has ever had.

"Not very interesting compared to what you do." She said. "I mean, you guys figure out what makes psychos tick. How awesome is that?"

"If you want to call getting inside serial killers minds and have to think the way they do awesome." Spencer said simply. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Smart ass." She said. Spencer laughed.

"I think that's a thank you." He chuckled. Rachel nodded.

"Oh my god," A voice said behind Spencer. "Spencer Reid?" Spencer turned around, Rachel looked confused.

"Yes?" Spencer replied. A man stood before him, a little over six feet, sandy colored hair, and brown eyes. He looked oddly familiar. A few other men were behind him.

"I'm Jeff Alridge, I was a line-backer in school." He said, hesitating slightly. Spencer wanted to get as far away from this man as he possibly could.

_Why do these people keep popping up?_ He thought. Rachel scowled.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked harshly. Jeff's eyes lit up.

"Rachel, sorry I didn't realize..."

"I asked you a question." She said, ice in her tone. Spencer's eyes were on Jeff. He recognized the other men as David Walt, Sean Hinders and Micheal Laughlin.

"We're here for Art's funeral." He said. Rachel snorted.

"After all these years you ass-holes still hang around each other." She said. "As if school wasn't bad enough. I'd hate to see what you guys did to the smart people at work." Jeff sighed.

"I deserved that." He said. Rachel was shocked. "That's actually what I came over here for." He looked at Spencer. "Spencer I'm sorry. I am so sorry. We had no right doing that to you. Just because you were smarter than the rest of us didn't mean you were a freak. We were stupid kids. I've seen what you've done on this case. It's all over the papers. Catching Stokes took something I never had. For what it's worth after all these years I am sorry. I know that doesn't make it right but..." He trailed off. "I know stuff like that doesn't go away and god I'm sorry." Spencer smiled gently.

"It's okay." He said. Rachel was speechless. Jeff shook his head.

"No it's not okay but thank you." He said. He walked away. The other men followed, nodding the apologies as they did so. Spencer turned back to Rachel.

"Did that help you at all?" She asked.

"Yeah actually it did." He said. She shook her head.

"You have got to be the most forgiving person I've met." She said quietly. He half-smiled.

"Yeah you've said that to me before." He said. She smiled. She her hand reached out across the table and grasped his.

"Do you remember what I said the last time I saw you?" She asked. He nodded.

"How could I forget?" He said, a smiling softly. She leaned forward slightly.

"I meant what I said. I really do love you Spence, I think I always have." She said, still leaning toward him.

"I know." He whispered. She was right in front of him, her eyes starting to close. His did as well. The next thing he knew her lips touched his. Her kiss was soft, gentle, like he always knew she was. And he kissed her back, loving every second she was this close to him. They both knew a relationship was impossible and there was a silent recognition of that. But this wasn't a relationship, this was a single, innocent, sweet, kiss.

* * *

"If you take another eight years to come see me I'll have to kill you." Rachel grinned. Spencer smiled as well.

"I'll come visit I promise." He said. He wrapped his arms around her, knowing full and well Morgan and J.J. were trying desperately not to say something...and laugh. "You know they're all watching." He whispered.

"They want something to tell Garcia about." She whispered back. Spencer smiled and pulled away.

"If they want something they've got it." He said. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, touching his lips to hers.

"OW!" Morgan teased. J.J. laughed hysterically with Emily. Hotch and Rossi's jaws dropped. Spencer pulled away and grinned, even though his face was beat red from embarrassment. Rachel laughed.

"I think that is the craziest, boldest thing you've ever done." She said.

"I know," Spencer said. "Sad right?" Rachel giggled.

"You better get out of here dork." She said. "Your plane's gonna take off without you." He nodded and hugged her again.

"I'll see you." He said. She creased her brows.

"Damn straight you will." She said. He laughed and walked away. Morgan wrapped his arm around Spencer's shoulder.

"C'mon loverboy." He said. Spencer's face grew red. J.J. and Emily were still laughing.

"Garcia is going to have a heart attack." Prentice said once they had boarded the jet. Spencer rubbed the back of his head.

"Does she have to know?" He asked. Prentice and Morgan looked at each other, then back to Spencer.

"Uh, yeah." They said in unison. Spencer grinned.

"Thanks." He said. From a few rows back they heard a loud squeal. They all turned and saw J.J. holding her phone away from her head.

"Told you Garcia'd have a heart attack." She said.

"OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOOOD!" Garcia's voice blared. Spencer shook his head. He looked out the window and saw Rachel waving as the plane started to take off. He grinned and waved and watched her laugh.

"I love you!" She mouthed.

"I love you too." He mouthed back.

"Hey, Earth to Reid." Morgan said.

"Hm?" Spencer said, looking up at him.

"I said are you okay?" Spencer smiled softly.

"Yeah, I think I am."

**END**

--Thank you all so much! This was my first CM fic and it went great. I might do more in the future but...until then my fans! Send me a review and tell me if you liked the end! God bless and thank you all!! : ) --


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